Bites worse than bark

Labradors aren't as gentle as they look. File photo / Hawkes Bay Today

Beware the labrador - and even the bichon frise.

When it comes to dog attacks on humans, the culprits are not always the breeds we tend to vilify.

Lee Exler, of North Shore City animal control, said labradors and labrador-crosses - usually seen as dopey family dogs - usually top the area's bite statistics.

"All dogs are wolves in disguise," said Exler. "The only difference between labradors and pit bulls and rottweilers are people's perceptions."

Because people perceive the labrador to be harmless, they will step over one on a doorstep, for example, he said.

"Humans, in their stupidity, will put them in that situation where they will bite."

Black labradors, despite being much less common than golden, feature more often in bite statistics - something Exler was at a loss to explain.

In Hamilton, labradors and lab-crosses were involved in more attacks than all but two other breeds - pitbulls, German shepherds and related crosses.

But it's not just big dogs whose bite is worse than their bark.

A bichon frise was classified as menacing under the Dog Control Act after it ran from its owner's property and bit a passerby on the calf in Auckland in 2007.

The little white fluff-ball caused a serious injury, said Auckland City Council animal services manager Clare Connell.

In Hamilton, two bichon frises have been involved in attacks since December 2007 - as have one poodle and one corgi.

A poodle was classified as menacing in Auckland after it knocked over an elderly woman, who ended up in hospital.

"But that was withdrawn after the dog underwent obedience training," said Connell.

In Auckland City in 2007, the latest year for which attack-by-breed figures were available, 24 labs and lab-crosses were classified as menacing and three as dangerous.

Only Staffordshire bull terrier crosses had higher figures but because labradors were so common, those classified were a small percentage of the number registered.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY